Mummies on sticks and Ninja Mummy Cookies

Here are some easy treats you can make just in time for Halloween and fall! :)  All you'll need is some:  White chocolate or Candiquik, Marshmallows, Pretzel sticks and Sugar Cookies.

  For the mummies on sticks you just stick some marshmallows on the pretzels....

 Then dip them in melted white chocolate/candiquik....

 And drizzle some more to make it look like a mummy...add eyes (either peppercorns or pieces of chocolate) and let cool.

 Oooooo!

Mummy or Ghost?  

Then for the Ninja Mummy Cookies just grab a round (or other shape) sugar cookie, and dip into the melted candiquik/white chocolate.  Drizzle some around to make it look "mummy-like" and add some additionally to the chin area like in the pics.  Add "eyes" and let cool.

Ninja Mummy Cookies.

Orecchiette with Sundried Tomatoes

Orecchiette is this very interesting little pasta.  Giada refers to it as "little ears" because that's what it looks like, and because that's what it means in Italian.  Since it's something I am going to eat though, I refer to it as little bowls....that's just me though.  :)  I found mine as a steal of a deal at Trader Joes, and I will definitley be buying more.  They are deslish!  Pair it with sundried tomatoes, EVOO and garlic and viola!  Dinner!  :)

Here's what you'll need:
Orecchiette (Prepared as package suggests)
Sundried tomatoes, sliced
Garlic, minced
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Parmesan Cheese
Basil for garnish

1.  Saute garlic in about 2 T. Olive Oil until just browning.  Quickly add in sundried tomatoes and 2 T. water stirring for about 1 minute.  (If you keep it on the heat too long they tomatoes may burn...as you may see by a few of mine that are a little over done looking...although they still tasted great...)
2.  Toss the pasta together with the tomato mixture until coated.
3.  Plate and shred some parmesan on top and garnich with fresh basil if desired.
4.  Enjoy!  :)

Sweet N Hot Pepper Jelly

 Have you ever had pepper jelly?  It's fabulous.  I just had it for the first time when my Mom bought us some when she was out visiting in April.  I was a little skeptical, but very delighted to find it was delicious on crackers either by itself or with the additon of cream cheese!  Yum!  So, naturally I tried it at home and was thrilled with the results so here's the recipe.  Here's a handy reference for canning.

Sweet N Hot Pepper Jelly (adapted from SureJell Hot Pepper Jelly recipe)
1 c. finely chopped, Hot Red Peppers (Red Jalapenos or Serranos)
3 c. finely chopped, Sweet Peppers (Red, Orange or Yellow Bell Peppers, etc...)
1 c. Apple Cider Vinegar
1 box SureJell (or other brand) Fruit Pectin for canning
1 t. Butter/Margarine
5 c. Sugar
Sterilized canning jars, rings and lids. (See this page for more info.)

These are the cute little sweet peppers I used.  I got them in a bag and there were just perfectly 3 c. of them once I chopped them up!

 1.  Get all of your ingredients measured and ready to go.  

2.  Place finely chopped peppers all in a large pot.  Add in vinegar and pectin.  Stir together and bring to a boil.

 3.  Once it come to a boil, stir in the sugar and keep stirring until it boils again.  Add in butter/marg. to help manage the froth level from the boiling.  (rolling boil see this page for more info)   Let it stay at a rolling boil for 1 minute.  

4.  Then remove from heat and place into prepared canning jars.  Fill the jars to about 1/8" from the top, wipe and place lids and rings on them.  

5.  Process in a water bath for 10 minutes at sea level or refer to this chart for other elevations.

6.  Place on cooling rack until cool.  Then store in pantry (or give as gifts).

Here's a favorite way in my house to eat Pepper Jelly.  Layer Cream Cheese and Pepper Jelly and spread on crackers!  Yum!

Ready to store, eat or give!  :)

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How to make Boiled Peanuts or Roasted Peanuts

My sis just had her baby three weeks ago, so this has been such an exciting and busy time in my house.  My husband and I went up to visit my sister and her family two weekends ago and had a great time.  Our newest niece is just the most precious, and beautiful little girl I've ever met!  We got to see my parents while we were up there too, and then my parents came to visit us in NC.

While they were here we made a trip out to the coast (Oak Island Area) and had a nice time despite the cool temps.  One day we even made it to a local farm market where we found some "green" peanuts!  I was super excited to be able to buy green peanuts so that I could boil and roast some!  So here's how y'all can do it too!  :)

note:  Although we know peanuts as "nuts" they are truly legumes, so here is one method of preparation as a legume (boiled) and one basically as a nut (roasted).

The green peanuts.

How to Boil Peanuts:  

Take your green peanuts, put them in a large bowl and rinse them off thoroughly.

 Then place them in a pot and add about 1/4 c. salt for every cup of green peanuts.  Cover with water.

 Bring to a rolling boil, and then let simmer for about 1 hour or until done.  

Serve warm so people can enjoy the experience of cracking open the shell in their mouths, sucking out the salty water and eating the fresh boiled legumes inside.  :)  Enjoy! 

How to Roast Peanuts:

Start off by rinsing off your green peanuts.

 Then toss the rinsed peanuts with some salt (as much or as little as you'd like) and place one a sprayed baking sheet.

 Roast (or "bake" really) in a 325degree oven for about 1 hour turning every 15minutes or so.

Enjoy at room temperature!  :)

Chicken Cordon Bleu

I had a hankering for this comfort food today, so I tried my hand at it.  You may recall I made something similar back in December called Chicken Kiev and it turned out really well!  So here's my Chicken Cordon Bleu, that turned out equally as well! (If not better!)  :)

 Chicken Cordon Bleu:
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (one per person or so)
Sliced Ham (Deli meat, leftover from spiral, etc...)
Mozzarella Cheese (Shredded or sliced)
Bread Crumbs (Plain or Italian)

 1.  Preheat oven to 375degrees.  Pound each breast until it's flat and thing enough to roll up. (Tip:  Try pounding one breast at a time in a Gallon size Ziploc with just the flat (not the bumpy) side of a meat tenderizer.  Much less mess!)

 2.  Place a slice of ham and some cheese in the middle (or so) of the pounded chicken.

 Get bread crumbs ready on a plate.

 3.  Roll up the chicken keeping the ham and cheese inside!  Then carefully roll in the bread crumbs.

 4.  Place on a greased baking pan.

 5.  Repeat process for each chicken breast.  

6.  Once they are all put together and placed on baking pan.  Bake for about 30 minutes or until done.  If yours are thicker then they will take more time, etc...

Just out of the oven!  Look at all that ooey gooey cheese ooozing out! :)

 7.  Plate and serve with your desired sides.  (Like salads, veggies, etc...)  I just hadn't gotten the rest of my plate together yet for pics...

Yum!  Just as good (if not better) than restaurant and store-bought ones!  :)

Whole Grain Crackers

I never realized how easy crackers were to make at home until I just made them yesterday!  They are also tasty, and I know exactly what is in them! :)  Plus they are super versatile....whole wheat, whole grain, whole lotta options!

My basic whole grain cracker recipe:
1 c. Whole Grain Flour
1 c. All Purpose Flour (or whole grain)
1 T. Olive Oil
2 t. Honey
1 t. seeds (optional)
1/2 t. Baking Powder
1/4 t. Salt

My rye cracker recipe:
1 c. Rye Flour
1 c. Flour (1/2 c. Whole Wheat & 1/2 c. All Purpose)
1 T. Olive Oil
2 t. Honey
1 t. Caraway Seeds
1/2 t. Baking Powder
1/4 t. Salt

1.  Mix together all of the ingredients.  The dough will be sticky.  Preheat oven to 400degrees.

2.  Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until it is easy to work with and not sticky anymore. (Just a few kneads really.)

3.  Roll out to about 1mm or so thin, and cut into your desired shapes.  I used a round biscuit cutter because I felt like round crackers.  Do whatever makes you happy! :)

 4.  Place on baking sheet.  (I actually used my holey pizza pan to sure crispness, but you can do whatever you want!) 

 5.  Once the pan is filled up, be sure to poke several holes in each cracker with a fork before baking.  (See example a little below as to why we poke.)

 6.  Once they have been poked with the fork, you can bake them for about 7 minutes.  Be sure to check them after 5 minutes though.  Also you can turn them halfway through if you'd like.  I did a combo of things on mine to see what I liked best.  If you make thicker crackers they will need to bake longer in order to get crispy.

7.  Once they are done baking, immediately remove them from the baking pan and place them on a cooling rack until cool.  Then store them in an airtight container.

 In the above picture you can see the difference between a cracker that has holes poked in it verses on that doesn't.  :)  So I recommend the holes, unless you like puffy crackers.  :)

 Homemade crackers.  Yum.  :)

Cream cheese on my new homemade cracker?  Yes please.  :)

Homemade Noodles

These homemade treasures aren't rocket science, but they sure are delicious!  Here's how to make them yourselves!  :)

Homemade noodles:

~2 c. flour

3 eggs

Pinch of salt

1.  Place the flour in a bowl or on a pastry board.  Make a well in the center of the flour.

 2.  Place the cracked eggs in the center of the well, like this...but put all three in there, I just didn't get a pic with them all in it.

 3.  Mix with a fork or by hand until well combined.

4.  Turn out onto a flour surface and knead just until smooth.  (Add flour if necessary.)

5.  Roll out as thick (or thin) as you would like.

 6.  With a knife or pizza cutter cut into noodle strips.  :)

 7.  Let rest/dry for about 30 minutes (or more).  

8.  Either place in bag and freeze for later, OR place into boiling water/broth.  They only take about 3 minutes to cook when they are freshly made like this.  You can use these in your homemade chicken noodle soup or chicken 'n noodles, or whatever else you think of!  Enjoy!  :)

Yum!  I love comfort food, don't you?

French Toast

Super easy, super economical and super yummy!  I love breakfast for dinner, don't you? :)  Here's how I do it...

This is what you'll need for 4 pieces of bread, so if you use 8 double it, if you use 12 triple it, etc.... :)

French Toast:
4 slices of bread
2 Eggs
3 T. Half and Half
1 T. Sugar
Pinch Salt
Pinch of Cinnamon
Little Pinch of Ginger

1.  Mix together the eggs, half n half, sugar, salt and spices.

2.  Dip each piece of bread into the mixture quickly getting each side covered.  (don't soak though, or else they'll get soggy.)

3.  Immediately after you dip the bread in the egg mixture place on a preheated skillet/griddle and repeat step 2 until the pan is full.

4.  Flip when the first side gets golden.

5.  Serve warm with butter and maple syrup!  (Or whatever else you'd like!)  :)

Enjoy!   Yummy!